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Article: SHREWD, RELIGIOUS ZIA LIVED, DIED A PARADOX.(Main)
- Article from:
- Albany Times Union (Albany, NY)
- Article date:
- August 18, 1988
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1988 Albany Times Union. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Associated Press
President Mohammed Zia ul-Haq was a dictator who blended firmness with political shrewdness in a formula that kept him in power 11 years, longer than anyone else in Pakistan's 41-year history.
Zia imposed martial law and executed the man he overthrew, but did not instill the fear of prison and midnight knocks on the door.
He was a zealous Moslem who stamped Islamic law on his nation, but did not enforce such cruel punishments as amputation for theft and stoning to death for adultery.
A Western diplomat said a few years ago: "Zia is something of a paradox. By and large he's had an unfavorable press in the West, ...